With Darkness Comes Light
by The Art of Sarcasm
Summary: Bella Swan, 26 years old, is pessimistic, jobless, and most of all, depressed. When a handsome stranger shows up on her doorstep, she’s suddenly launched into a world of darkness: and with darkness, there is always light. B E. Dark and funny.
1. Prologue

_A/N: Hey! I'm new here, so this is my first fanfiction! I accept criticism very nicely, so fire away. I hope you like the story. If you have any ideas, comments, etc., feel free to PM me. _

Prologue:

"_Honey, please do something about your hair. I want you to make a good impression on Paul." _

_The girl strapped in the back seat of the car grinned. Her mom was crazy about Paul; after two previous divorces she was convinced that Paul was "the one". Of course, she also thought that the last two losers she married were "the ones", but this time, her daughter actually approved of the engagement. Paul had just asked Mom last month, and she was definitely anxious about the wedding preparations. _

"_Quickly, Bella, fix your hair. Stop zoning out. I swear you do that more and more often." Her tone was light, not at all scolding, and she flashed a giddy smile at her daughter, then returned her eyes to the road. _

_Yes, Mom was undeniably excited about Paul. _

_Bella swept her mousy, brown hair from her face, and then smoothened it back. It was a mess before, hair sticking up and obviously tangled, and it wasn't that much better after. Bella shrugged. _

_Her mother sighed. _

_The brown-haired girl looked out the window, watching the cars zoom past. The corners of her lips turned upward as she daydreamed about her life after the wedding, with Paul as her official father. Well, stepfather. But Bella didn't like her birth father half as much as Paul, so really, she forgot all about her previous fathers. _

_Suddenly, the car veered right sharply and Bella found herself pressed up against the car door. She heard a harsh honk, and then a symphony of shouting. The car was then abruptly hit by something- it knocked the car over and the car skidded toward the sidewalk, the friction of the road creating sparks and a high pitched whining from where the top of the car grinded across the road. _

_Bella's eyes lost their focus and fluttered shut. A trickle of blood dripped down her forehead as she fell into unconsciousness._

_-----_

"_Miss, miss. Can you hear me?" _

_Bella blinked rapidly. What happened? She didn't remember anything from the last five minutes. She was going to Paul's house with her mom and then…where was Mom? _

_She opened the mouth, and all that came out was a quiet groan. There was a sharp throbbing in her forehead. Bella shut her eyes tightly again. _

_Wait. She was in someone's arms. What? _

_Bella frowned in confusion. She opened her eyes and squinted against the light. She could make out a figure looming above her. The figure sharpened. It was a man with a white coat on. On the white coat, there was a red cross stitched onto the right pocket. So this man was a doctor then. What did this mean? Where was Mom? _

"…_uh…mhm..huh?" Bella managed to gasp out. Every breath was painful. _

"_Miss. You're fine. Apart from a slight head concussion, you are fine. Very weak, but no serious injuries." The doctor spoke in a soothing voice. _

"_What? Head concussion? Broken wrist? Wait. Where are I?" Bella almost shot out of this doctor's arms, but she couldn't. There was a weight pressing against her chest. An imaginary one. Her sight, hearing and speech were all fine, but Bella was sure that her body was limp and weak. The doctor's words were disquieting. Why was she injuried? Where. Was. Her. Mom? _

"_You're in the hospital, miss. We're just entering." _

"_Hospital? Why am I in the hospital?" _

"_You are weak. You need to rest. When we get everything sorted out, you'll be able to go home. I don't have the specifics of your stay here, but I do know that someone with the name of Paul Genden is paying the medical expense. He says you're his…almost step-daughter, right?" _

"_Yes. Paul. My mom is engaged to him. Where is my mom?" _

_The doctor said nothing. He walked quickly through the hospital, and Bella looked around. Noone looked at her. She had so many questions, but didn't want to be rude by pressing the doctor. _

_The doctor entered Room number 501. He laid Bella gently on one of the hospital cots. Then he took the clipboard that was on the cot and looked through the papers. His expression saddened for a moment. _

_As the doctor was looking at the papers, Bella touched her hand to her forehead. There was something rough covering it. Probably gauze. Bandages. The doctor said that she had a minor head concussion. They must of fixed it up in the ambulance. Maybe. _

_Finally the doctor looked up._

_Bella tried to sit up, failed, and instead propped part of her back up with her arms, elbows on the cot. _

_The doctor began to speak, "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I'll be checking up on you daily at your stay." He paused, "You were in a car accident," Dr. Cullen glanced at the clipboard, "Isabella. Another driver, we think he was drunk, had almost collided with the car you were riding in. From the report, your car had tried to avoid the drunk driver, but the driver rammed his truck into your car. Your car had flipped over and slid to the edge of the road. Two passengers, your mother and yourself, correct?" _

_Bella nodded numbly. A sort of cold feeling was spreading from her stomach, the icy tendrils grabbing her inside with its claws, scraping the walls of her stomach. _

_Scratch, scratch. _

"_You survived of course, but…your mother was not so fortunate. There was a fracture in her collarbone, several broken bones in her arms and legs. She went into shock. We…couldn't save her. She died on the way back." Dr. Cullen spoke this part very gently, and even quieter. "I'm sorry, Isabella. I'll try to make your stay as comfortable as possible." _

_Bella tried to reply, tried to thank this kind doctor whose eyes were an odd shade of brown, a golden butterscotch color. She couldn't though. She couldn't talk anymore. _

_The dread that quickly swelled in her was horribly agonizing. It hurt in both a physical and mental way. She felt that cold feeling in the pit of her stomach laughing, engulfing her in a never ending cyclone of…pain. Her heart ached, her head throbbed, everything hurt- Bella felt like she was splitting apart, or shattering into a million pieces, and then it repeated again and again. _

_She laid in a ball, curled up, her arms wrapped around her knees, shaking. Bella didn't cry though. The tears had deserted her. There was a point where tears were useless- they couldn't convey the pain anymore. And what Bella felt was pain to the greatest extent. _

_The loss of a mother._

_Dr. Cullen stood by the cot awkwardly, shifting his weight from leg to leg. _

_After Bella had reigned in the pain, and was able to cry softly, she opened her mouth to speak. _

_What came out can only be described as a scream. _


	2. Chapter One

_A/N: First chapter! Yay! I really hope you review, if you like it. I worked hard on this chapter. If there is at least one reviewer who likes the story, I will write chapter two faster than you can say "Write more please!" _

Chapter 1:

I woke up screaming.

My hand flew to cover my mouth. I was curled up in a ball, and soaked with sweat. It was hard to breathe; every breath hurt. I spent a few moments getting my breathing in check. I was gasping wildly, and coughed suddenly. Choked on spit or something. With my luck, it was probably a fly.

Ew, no.

Deep breaths, Bella. In. Out. In. Out.

After my breathing was normal (it wasn't exactly normal, still erratic actually, but better), I closed my eyes.

It was the same dream as before. And I always woke up in the same position: pitifully pathetic.

Tears welled up in my eyes as the dream flashed fast-forward in my mind. Even after so many years, I still couldn't forget the memory. Dreams (or nightmares, example: me) were supposed to fade, but this certain dream never faded. Never.

I wiped my eyes and the tears away. If tears didn't fall, then I wasn't crying. Only close to crying, but not crying. I didn't ever want to be caught crying, even in the middle of the night, alone in my dark bedroom.

Well, not exactly alone-alone, where no one is there when you're too lazy to get food from the fridge.

I heard light footsteps pattering down the hallway. Alice, as usual. I calmed a bit. I couldn't live without her, but I'd never admit it. The pixie is already way too cheery. Alice cooks breakfast, lunch , dinner, she cleans my bedroom (because I never do, and Alice is most definitely a clean freak), supports me financially (yes, she supports jobless Bella), and is basically the one who gets up at 2 am to comfort me. Or atleast try to. Anyways, I'm grateful for Alice.

"Bella?" The door creaked open, and Alice slipped through into my bedroom.

She was short and hyper. Extremely so. Alice was rich; her parents had left her a whole lot of money, and I shared an apartment with her in Chicago.

I groaned, sitting up. I could tell my hair was a mess.

Alice danced over, sitting on the edge of my bed. "Are you okay?" She asked gently. Alice was one of the two people in the world who knew my deep, dark secret: that my mom died in a car crash and that I'm a psychological mess who needs therapy but is too stubborn to go to it.

"Yeah…same as usual, I guess." I replied, staring at my hands.

Alice was sympathetic. "Same dream?"

"Yeah."

She reached over and hugged me tightly. "I'm sorry, Bella. I really am."

"I know." I half-smiled, knowing that at least I had one person I could count on.

"Are you going to be okay when I leave? I'll be long at least two months, you know."

Alice was going on a vacation with Jasper, her boyfriend. They were perfect together. I envied Alice. I wish I had a boyfriend who would be there when I wanted to spill my secrets and fears. Not in therapy, of course. I don't trust the therapists.

"I'll be fine. You're leaving early tomorrow, right?"

"Mmhm. I'm meeting Jazzy at the airport. You'll come with me to say goodbye, Bella? Please?" Alice pouted.

I couldn't resist that expression. "Fine, Alice, fine."

Alice grinned. "Yay! Thanks, Bella. You're the best friend I could wish for."

I didn't believe that. There were lots of more compatible friends for Alice. People who liked to shop (a lot!), giggle and chatter, paint their toenails pink, and do the kind of stuff Alice wants to do. Me? Well, I stayed home, sulked around, winced at pink, and was definitely not a good friend for Alice. But she still insisted on being my friend, and I was more than grateful.

"I don't believe that, but, if it makes you happy." I gave Alice a sincere smile.

She beamed. "That's the spirit, Bella!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go to sleep now. Goodnite." I yawned, blinking drowsily.

"Kay. Goodnite." Alice gave me another hug, and floated out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

I was envious. Due to my permanent clumsiness, I tripped rather easily. The sad thing is, I tripped mostly over thin air.

How was Alice gifted with both gracefulness _and _agility?

Doesn't seem fair to me.

"Bella. Bella. Bellaaaaa."

I groaned, sinking under the covers. "No, stop, go away." I mumbled, snuggling into my pillow.

Suddenly the sheets were yanked away from me. My eyes flew open; whoever did that was about to get a serious wake-up call. "What the heck do you think you're doing," My eyes tightened as I caught sight of that mischievous pixie called Alice hugging my sheets, "Alice?"

I glanced at the flashing numbers on my clock. "Damn, Alice, who wakes up at four in the morning?"

Alice frowned at me, and whined, "Come on, Bellaaaaa. We have to go in a bit. You know we have to get to the airport early, since we have to go to the luggage check, and get our tickets, and the passports…" She thought for a moment, then nodded furiously, "And buy souvenirs! You know all the good souvenirs are taken! And we also have to-"

"Stop Alice, I'll come, I'll come." I glared at Alice, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Alice brightened even more; it was scary actually, because Alice was always upbeat and as cheerful as a ray of sunshine. "Alright Bella, go brush your teeth, and I'll pick out your clothes!"

I stared at her. I had half a mind to ignore her and go back to bed, but I did promise her that I would go to the airport with her. Instead, I stood up, stretching, winced as a muscle popped, and sulked into the bathroom.

After I brushed my teeth and took a quick shower, I walked back into my bedroom, drying off my hair. There was an outfit laid tastefully on the bed, which was now neat and smoothened, and every corner was tucked in. I thanked Alice silently for making my bed, and walked to the bed to inspect the clothes more thoroughly. The shirt was a plain white shirt, with a thin silk ribbon laced at the hem and under the bosom. There was a cute blue knitted sweater jacket over that with a leather belt at the waist, and a pair of dark blue jeans. For the shoes they were a pair of velvet blue ballet flats. I half smiled, half grimaced; I was sure everything was designer, but loved the outfit that Alice had picked, as usual.

I put everything on, and smoothened back my messy brown hair back. Rubbing my eyes, I walked into the kitchen where Alice was flitting around, a cup of coffee in her hand. I saw my cup on the table, and was grateful to find that it was a creamy color, not the icky black stuff Alice drinks.

"Good morning!" Alice said, sitting down at the table. I sat down too, sipping my coffee slowly. I was a bit irritated actually, to find that we still had almost two hours left until Jasper came to get us to go to the airport.

"Good morning, Alice." I replied, and after a moment, I added, "Explain why we still have two hours. You said that we'd have to leave in a bit."

Alice shrugged her tiny shoulders. "Well, makeup and hair usually takes an hour, and I thought that it'll be nice to have some time to hang out before I have to leave. You know, watch TV or something. Maybe a manicure?" She said casually, but I knew that sneaky little pixie was just trying to weasel out a complete makeover out of me, and I definitely wasn't buying it.

"No, Alice, you know how I hate makeovers and stuff. What's wrong with my hair and face anyways?" I whined, gulping down the last of the coffee.

Alice shook her head, acting disappointed. "Bella, Bella, Bella," She sighed, and I rolled my eyes. Alice was so dramatic. "No offense, but you look like the bride of Frakenstein. You're really pretty, Bella, believe me, but you don't take the time to enhance that beauty! That's why I'm here to do it for you." She grinned, as if that was a perfectly good reason.

I scoffed, "Yeah right Alice. Besides, all I'm doing is going to the airport. Is there really a need for makeup?"

Alice was shocked. It was like I said I had killed her mother or something. "Bella! Hair and makeup are necessities."

I ignored her, moving to the couch, and slumped into the cushion, flickering on the television.

Alice got up from the table as well, and disappeared in the hallway, probably to do her hair and makeup. "Don't mess up your clothes," She called from the hall.

I didn't care about my clothes, and slumped even further on the couch, staring at the TV idly.

Eventually Alice came back, hair perfectly spiked but still feminine, mascara, lip gloss, and eyeliner. She was wearing a sparkly pink skirt with a white tank top with little hearts outlining the edges. She had on bright pink pumps, and there was a blazer on her arm. "Is it pink day?" I asked sarcastically, watching Alice come from the hallway.

"I'm hurt, Bella," Alice replied, holding a manicured hand to her chest, "and yes it is! I marked it on the calendar on the fridge. And come on, Bella, let me do your hair and makeup." Alice carefully positioned herself at the edge of the couch, not wanting to ruin her outfit. "Don't make me make you," She warned.

"Fine, fine," I surrendered, letting her lead me into the torture room. She sat me on the official makeup chair in the bathroom, and got out all her weapons. I had grabbed a book on the way, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was _Romeo and Juliet_, the classic love story. I flipped through the worn pages, finding the parts that I loved the most. I didn't notice what Alice was doing to me, and only took my eyes off the book when she did my makeup. She was done just as I got to the last page, and I held back the tears, knowing that Alice would murder me if I ruined my mascara. Plus, as always, I didn't want to be caught crying.

"All done! Take a look!" Alice beamed, bouncing on her heels.

I peered at myself in the mirror, and I thought I was actually pretty. My usually messy hair was now in very neat, and loosely curled. A strand fell down on my eyes, and I flicked it back. The makeup was subtle, and I thanked Alice for that. The eyeliner expertly ringed my boring eyes; with the mascara my eyes looked surprisingly clear and warm. She had applied a thin layer of lip gloss, and didn't bother with the blush. I was satisfied with the person in the mirror, and Alice noticed that.

"Oh, Bella! I knew, I just knew, you'd like it!" Alice smiled, and I saw that mischievous streak in there. I knew I was going to become the Barbie for Alice.

The bell rang then, and Alice, with a squeal, hurried down the hallway to the door. I followed her, and walked in on Jasper and Alice lip locked furiously.

I groaned. "Can't you guys ever do it when I'm not here?" But in reality, I was very happy for the couple; they were the best match in the world.

After a long minute, they finally released each other. Jasper, being the Southern gentleman he is, greeted me affectionately. "Bella," he said, pulling me into a quick hug, "It's always nice to see you."

"Same," I replied, smiling. Jasper was high on my list of favorites; he was my second best friend, under Alice, of course.

Jasper opened the door, and Alice and him, hand in hand, walked out of the apartment. I stopped to get my bag, and followed them, locking the door behind me.


End file.
